Dist. 4, Art. 2, Q. 2
by St. Bonaventure
Source text: Public Domain Mark 1.0. English translation/apparatus/encoding: CC BY-NC 4.0, Wroot Press.
https://bonaventure.wrootpress.com/browse/3/d/4/q/bon-sent-III-d4-a2-q2
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### Question II. *Whether the Blessed Virgin Mary merited to conceive Christ, or whether that conception was solely from the gift of divine grace.*

Secondly, inquiry is made concerning the conception of Christ in comparison to the merit of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the question is whether the Blessed Virgin Mary merited to conceive Christ, or whether that conception was solely from the gift of divine grace. And that the Blessed Virgin merited to conceive Christ is shown:

1. (*Arguments.*) Through that which is said in Luke 1: *Blessed art thou that hast believed, for the things shall be accomplished in thee that were spoken to thee by the Lord;* but the conception had been announced by the Lord: therefore she conceived for this reason, because she believed. But it is established that faith or belief was not the efficient cause of the conception: therefore it was the meritorious cause.

2. Likewise, in the collect which is commonly said by the Church: « Almighty, eternal God, who, the Holy Spirit cooperating, didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mary, that she might merit to be made a worthy dwelling-place for thy Son » etc. And from this it is gathered that blessed Mary merited and that she was worthy: therefore she merited by the merit of condignity to conceive.

3. Likewise, Bernard in the fifth book *On Consideration to Eugenius*, treating that text of Matthew 13: *The kingdom of heaven is like to leaven* etc., says that « the woman was Wisdom, who by the leaven of the faith of the Blessed Virgin in the incarnation mingled three measures, *the new, the old, the eternal:* the new in the creation of the soul out of nothing, the old in the assumption of a body from the nature of Adam, the eternal in the union of the divinity ». Therefore the faith of the Blessed Virgin cooperated in some manner in that mingling; but not as regards the merely effective principle: therefore by way of merit.

4. Likewise, the Blessed Virgin either had sufficient grace, preparing her for the conception of the Son of God, or not. If so; but grace sufficiently prepar-

ing makes one merit that for which it prepares, by the merit of condignity: therefore it seems that the Blessed Virgin from that grace merited the conception of the Son of God, since she used it well. If not; then either she lacked that sufficiently-preparing grace because she could not receive it, or because God did not will it, or could not give it; but not because God could not, or would not, give it, since he is omnipotent and would without doubt wish to prepare for himself a fitting dwelling-place. If because the Virgin could not receive it: then much less could she conceive the Son of God, for whose conception that grace was preparing. But if all these are unfitting, the first remains, namely that the Blessed Virgin merited the conception of Christ through the grace given to her.

**On the contrary:** 1. (*To the opposite.*) Augustine in the *Enchiridion,* and it is had in the text: « The manner in which Christ was born of Mary as a son, and of the Holy Spirit not as a son, suggests to us the grace of God, by which a man, with no preceding merits, in the very beginning of his nature, in which he began to be, was joined to the Word of God »: therefore it seems that no merits preceded the conception of Christ or the incarnation.

2. Likewise, the merit of the whole Church is greater than that of a single person: therefore if the incarnation does not fall under the merit of the whole Church, neither does it fall under the merit of the Virgin Mary.

3. Likewise, that which falls under merit does not fully hold the character of the gratuitous — for if grace is from merits, then it is no longer grace, as the Apostle says to the Romans — but the incarnation of the Son of God pertained to the greatest grace, according to what Augustine says: therefore it seems that the Blessed Virgin Mary did not merit his conception.

4. Likewise, this is of inestimable condescension, that the Son of the eternal God should be made the son of one poor little woman: therefore it was not from equity or the justice of retribution, and therefore not from the merit of the Virgin.

> **Conclusion.** Mary, not by the merit of condignity, but only by the merit of congruity, and after the annunciation also by the merit of worthiness, was able to merit to conceive the Son of God.

**I respond:** It must be said that one may speak of merit (*The threefold merit.*) according to a threefold degree and difference. For there is the merit of *congruity,* by which a sinner is said to merit grace for himself, when he disposes himself toward grace: and there is the merit of *worthiness* (*digni*), by which, namely, a just man prays for another and merits to be heard; and there is the merit of *condignity,* by which one out of such great charity merits such great glory.

I say therefore that the Blessed Virgin Mary, (*Conclusion 1.*) *before the incarnation,* merited to conceive the Son of God by the merit of *congruity,* since by her exceeding purity and humility and kindness she was fit to be made the Mother of God. But *after the annunciation,* (*Conclusion 2.*) after she had consented, and the Holy Spirit descended upon her in the abundance of grace, she had not only *congruity* but *worthiness;* and from then she merited, not only by the merit of *congruity* but of *worthiness,* to be overshadowed and made pregnant by the power of the Most High. But by the merit of *condignity* she could not (*Conclusion 3.*) merit to conceive the Son of God, for the reason that this exceeds all merit, and also because it was the *foundation* of the merit itself of the glorious Virgin. For whether we say that God is made man, or whether we say that a woman is made the Mother of God, each is above the state which is due to a creature; and therefore both this and that were of kindness and of grace. And therefore, as I said, that a just man can merit the first grace for a sinner by the merit of *worthiness,* not by the merit of *condignity,* lest grace should lose the character of grace; so it can be granted that the Blessed Virgin merited the conception not only by the merit of *congruity,* but by the merit of *worthiness,* because through the copious grace of the Holy Spirit she was, for that conception, not only congruous but also *worthy*.

From these things can be made clear the reasons and authorities which are adduced for either side. (*Note.*) For the reasons which are adduced for the first side run upon merit according to the first or second acceptation. The reasons which are adduced for the second side run upon merit in the third sense.

1. (*Solution of the opposing arguments.*) To that word, however, which is said from the text, it must be said that merits are not denied absolutely, but preceding merits, and this not in anyone whatever, but in the assumed nature, because it did not have merits preceding the union; for it was at the same time conceived and assumed and formed, as was shown above.

2. To that which is objected, that the merit of the whole Church is greater than that of the Virgin Mary; it can be said that that reasoning is not conclusive, because the merit of the Fathers is greater than that of the Virgin extensively, yet it is not

necessary that it be so intensively; because the Blessed Virgin, after, having heard the annunciation from the Angel, she was sanctified by the Holy Spirit, was filled with so great a gift of grace that she could worthily merit something which all the other Saints could not, if they were gathered together at once.

3. 4. To the other two there is no need to respond, since they proceed according to the third way, as is apparent. For worthiness takes away nothing of the liberality of grace nor of the kindness of mercy; rather it remains together with them, as is apparent to one who considers.

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